Part 1 – Flexibility Training – Reading
In today’s readings, there are some customs that might need some explanation.
1 – Abraham wanted to secure for his son an appropriate wife. Toward that end, he commissioned the servant to get a girl from back home. “Don’t find a wife from among the Canaanites. Get someone from my family.” In Abraham’s time, it was not unusual to keep the family lines pure. And considering the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, two towns in Canaan, it is understandable why Abraham would not want his son to become involved in that degenerate society.
2 – This was such an important request that Abraham required his servant to swear an oath. “Put you hand under my thigh.” This is a bit trickier to figure out. Most of the commentaries guess that this old custom was a way of putting an oath in place in which both parties recognize the importance of the oath on future generations. It was a very serious oath. Where exactly was the hand placed? No one is sure. It could have been on the “loins” or the testicles, or actually on the thigh near the loins. Perhaps it had something to do with circumcision. Perhaps it had something to do with God’s promise about the “seed of Abraham.” According to rabbinical tradition, it was simply a hand under the thigh, showing that by letting Abraham sit on his hand, the servant was in submission to Abraham. No matter the specific details of the hand placement, Abraham and his servant were in agreement that this was a very solemn and sacred oath that was of utmost importance to the future of the family.
Read Genesis 24. Notice the servant was a man of faith as well, trusting God to bring the right girl at the right time with that certain right way and attitude.
By this time, Isaac was 40. In our society, 40-year-old virgins are mocked as oddities. People ask what is keeping them from “gittin’ some”. They say, “Don’t you know what to do?” “What’s wrong with you?” Our society would likely ask Isaac why he didn’t go out and find a bride for himself? “Why did your Daddy have to go get one for you?” And no doubt, the Canaanites asked him those very same questions. Remember, these are the people related those wiped out in Sodom, the friends of those in Gomorrah. They were sexually active at early ages just like Americans.
But God’s people are held to a different standard. Sexual purity and honoring parents are two traits that greatly please God. Isaac knew this and lived by this. After all, he was the one who willingly submitted to being sacrificed on that mountain in Moriah. So when Abraham said to his servant, “Go get a wife for Isaac from my own people,” Isaac did not protest but prepared his mother’s tent for the bride who would come.
PART 2 – Strength Training – Memory & Thinking
As we continue to add to our verses, find a way to rotate through the former verses so you can keep them fresh in your mind. Put them on your phone (or on index cards if you are old school) and review them as you stand in line at the bank or the store. Keep God Word fresh and current. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you remember them.
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
1 Peter 3:5-6 This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.
The servant of Abraham trusted that God knew which girl should be the wife of his master’s son. So he simply asked God to show him which girl was right by sending a young woman who noticed his need and volunteered to help. Solomon wrote about this type of faith centuries later.
Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Part 3 – Cardio Training – Prayer
It is hard to know which way we should go in life. Do I go to college or just start working? Do I marry this person or that person, or stay single? Do I take this job or keep looking? It’s also difficult to know should we be waiting for God to provide the solution or are we supposed to be working on a plan. A wise teacher once gave this answer: Do what the Bible the says and then do what you want – meaning, as long as we are being faithful to honor God’s Word, God gives us our desires and dreams as a way to show us what to do next. In the decision that are coming your way, ask God for direction. You might pray something like this:
Dear Father, in the decisions I face today, both big and small, help me seek to honor You first. I pray that You would establish my steps, that You would make my path straight, as it says in Proverbs 3:5-6. For those life-changing decisions, give me wisdom and courage to trust You wherever You lead me.
Part 4 – Endurance Training
Whether you are living through a season of uncertain steps, like Abraham’s servant, or are living through a long season of living alone, trust God to guide you to the right places with the right people. Keep taking one step, and one step, and one step. Keep persevering in your reading of God’s Word so you’ll be able to learn to know what exactly is the Will of God.
An Extra Lap
Little has been said here about the character of Rebekah. Take a few minutes and read through her entrance into the narrative. What do we know about her from this section of the Bible?
One detail of possible interest is that Rebekah did not cover her face with a veil until she was about to meet her groom. Several commentaries suggest that this was a wedding tradition, that veils were not the norm of dress for travel or daily work.
We will spend more time with Rebekah over the next several days.
Faith Gym 